Nowhere Else To Go
by Phantasytrail
Summary: Rachel's been going through some hard times lately, and during one horrible encounter after her dance class one night, she finds herself on the doorstep of the last person she ever thought she'd need.   Pezberry.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer; I do not own the show or the characters in this fic (but god do I wish I did)**

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><p>So this is my first published Glee fic. I'm not very good at publishing stories on this site - I'm used to doing so on my livejournal, so I apologize if this will be hard to read. <p>

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><p>Santana stood shockingly still, staring down at the girl nervously shifting around on her front porch.<br>"I'm sorry for coming over so late and disturbing you Santana. I know that you and I are not 'friends' per say, and that you find me highly annoying, but I kind of don't have anyone else to turn to right now, and it's important. Or, well… You probably won't feel the same way, seeing how you hate me and all, but…"  
>"What, Berry? Just spit it out already!" The shock beginning to wear off, giving the Latina room for actual thoughts in her head again and for actual words find to find their way through her lips. Rachel nodded her head and swallowed nervously before opening her mouth again;<br>"My fathers are away on vacation at the moment and they won't be home for another few weeks and Kurt hates me ever since the whole Finn/Noah debacle, I really don't know why though, but I guess he's trying to be a supportive brother of some sorts…"

The tiny diva continued her rant, seemingly without needing to take a single breath, as the taller brunette crossed her arms over her chest and waited for the smaller girl to get to her point. "… and Mercedes and I never really got along all that well, and I just… I don't have anyone else to go to. I thought since you live just down the block that I, I don't know, I…"

Santana sighed as she cut the girl off, "Seriously Hobbit, I don't have all night."  
>Rachel looked up at the taller brunette as she took a long breath and blurted out; "I was mugged."<p>

Concern flashed through Santana's eyes for a second before she responded, "What?" She quickly cleared her throat and uncrossed her arms from where they'd rested over her chest, trying to not sound all that worried about the girl she supposedly hates, she spoke; "Are you like, okay? Should I… call the cops or something?" Rachel shook her head, "Oh, no. No, that's… I'm okay. There's no need for the police to get involved. The guy managed to grab my wallet before I started running away. I just ran, really fast, and somewhere along the road I lost my keys. I don't have a spare, and I really just want to go home and forget about this whole day." She bit her lip as she continued to look up at the Latina through her eyelashes. Santana nodded, waiting for the Diva to keep talking, however, as the seconds seemed to tick by without a single word coming from the shorter girl, Santana heaved another sigh, "So… I'm honestly not trying to sound mean right now Berry… But what the hell do you want me to do about it?"

Rachel's shoulders slumped forward a bit as she seemed to take an interest in her shoes, "I don't really know. I…" Santana looked over the usually smiling (annoyingly so) but now broken looking girl, and noticed how Rachel's hands were shaking quite visibly.

"I just want to go home." It was whispered so quietly that Santana barely caught it, and as much as she'd like to just close the door right in the Diva's face and forget that this conversation ever happened, she _did_ hear it and I kind of broke her heart a little bit.

It was almost an hour later that the Latina found herself climbing the side of the Berry house, trying to reach the only open window – on the second floor – conveniently also, the _only_ way in to the house without breaking some glass, something Rachel was being very strict about not doing.  
>"I can't freaking reach it Berry! I swear, if I fall and break my ass, I WILL end you. And I won't even feel bad about kicking your ass on the same night you got mugged!" Rachel threw her hands out exasperatedly and sighed audibly, "Yes, Santana, I did actually hear you the first time you threw that sentence at me. Also the second time, AND third time. You have my permission to, as you say - 'kick my ass' if you do fall down and break your precious little butt, okay?" She stomped her foot in the grass to emphasize just how frustrated the Latina and her over-repeated threats were.<p>

"Did you just seriously call my ass _little_?" She heard Santana growl from her spot on the brick wall. They'd been bantering like this, back and forth, for over 30 minutes now.  
>"Yes, Santana. In fact, I called your ass Little <em>and<em> Precious." She responded irritably. The laughter she heard coming from the Latina did nothing to calm her darkened mood.  
>"Oh my god, Berry! You just said 'ass'!" The laughter continued, "And you think my ass is precious! I mean, I understand that your view from down there must be fucking wonderful, but please keep the ogling and commentary to yourself, okay! If I keep laughing, I'm going to fall down!"<p>

Rachel sent the Latina's back an unimpressed glare, "Oh you wish I was staring at your ass, _Lopez!_" She replied very uncharacteristically, "I know you're a hardworking Cheerio and all, but I've seen way, _way_ finer behinds before." This time, Santana wasn't laughing, having finally caught the side railing of the window where she held on tight and carefully slid closer to the middle of the big wooden square of glass. She'd caught the words Rachel had thrown at her though but pretended not to have, to keep the Diva from knowing just how much it had freaking her out.  
>Not because she'd called her Lopez – although that was out of the blue – but because of how un-Rachel-like the whole comment had been. Who knew Hobbit actually checked out asses, like, <em>at all<em> in her freakishly boring and frigid life?

She finally managed to grab a hold of the edge of the railing as she balanced on a slightly more out-standing brick in the wall of the house, and threw her leg up as far as she could, finally getting her leg hooked on the inside of the window – she wasn't a Cheerio for nothing – and climbed in through the fully opened window. "Hah!" She yelled out as she put her left foot down on the floor, but stumbled slightly as she tried to get her right leg in as well, managing to fall unceremoniously down on the floor. "Santana, are you alright?" Rachel yelled worriedly when she heard the crash from inside the house. "You didn't manage to break anything, did you?" As on cue, the Latina's head popped up from her spot on the floor, smiling face sticking out of the window, playing her (kind of _really_ _hard_) fall as nothing more than minor bump to the leg.  
>"Everything is peachy up here!" Rachel lifted an eyebrow at the tone Santana had used,<br>"Are you sure? It sounded like you fell down pretty hard. That's my fathers room you're in. Please say nothing broke!" When she got no response she got a little worried. "Okay, I didn't mean to make that sound like their room and possessions mean more than your well-being. Are you really okay up there?" She still got no response, "Santana?"

"**What!** I don't want any freaking Girl Scout cookies, you damn midgets!" Rachel yelped in fear and surprise; as Santana threw open the front door behind her. "Christ, Santana! Give me a heart attack would you!" The Latina laughed as she watched the smaller brunette clench her hand over heart.

When Rachel didn't move from her spot, seemingly frozen in fear, Santana stepped down from the porch, "Hey, Berry… you okay?" the tiny Diva only pressed her hand harder against her chest, brows furrowing and tears starting to swell in her eyes.  
>"Rachel?" She took a few tentative steps towards the girl, and (against her better judgment) placed a hand on a shaking shoulder. "I didn't… I didn't mean to scare you." Understanding that the girl must have had some sort of flashback to her encounter, being mugged, earlier in the evening, Santana carefully helped the diva up the steps of the porch, through the door and set her down on the large grey couch in the living room.<br>She sat down next to her, taking a deep breath before she did something she never usually do. "I'm sorry." She breathed out the apology before she continued, "I really didn't mean to scare you." Rachel seemed to snap out of whatever haze she'd been in and looked up at the Latina, her big brown eyes blinking rapidly to clear away the tears that had formed minutes earlier. "I…"

She shook her head and looked away. "It's fine, Santana, really. I don't know what came over me." She turned her head back to the taller brunette and offered her a smile, that didn't come near to reaching her eyes. "Rachel, it's okay for you to be freaked out, you know. You were attacked…" Rachel cut her off, "I wouldn't say attacked. I was merely mugged." Santana shook her head and bit back sarcastically, "Yeah, because that's something everyone go through every day." She grabbed Rachel's right hand and held it in a firm hold, "Look, I don't really do… talks, or whatever. And if you ever tell anyone I told you this, I'll deny it, but… I'm here, if you want to, like, talk or something. Or, if you need like, a shoulder to cry on, I'm here. Just make sure you won't get your snot all over my shirt or anything." The Latina smiled as a giggle bubbled through the diva's throat.  
>"Hey, you know what I just noticed?" Rachel asked, a small smile tugging on her lips.<br>"What's that?" deciding to play along, Santana sat back more firmly against the couch.  
>"You called me Rachel."<p>

They were both quiet for a few minutes before Santana nudged the diva's shoulder playfully. "Whatever. It's not like you have any witnesses to that!" Rachel turned her head around to smile at Santana. "Yeah, you're right. It's not like anyone would believe me if I told them so either." They shared another smile before Rachel turned the on the TV that was standing in front of the couch.

"You can leave if you want to. I'm not expecting you to stay here any longer than you need to." She said absentmindedly as she flipped through the channels. Santana, who'd been lost in thought, only shook her head even though the diva couldn't see her. "Nah, it's not like I had any real plans tonight anyways. I'll just stay for a while, if that's okay." Rachel once again turned around and looked the Latina. She nodded and locked her brown eyes on dark brown ones, "Thank you, by the way. For helping me today, and for calming me down." She gave the Latina a small smile before she mimicked the other girl and settled back firmly against the couch.

They sat there watching some movie that was playing, neither saying a word to each other. A little more than halfway through the movie, the diva fell asleep, her head resting snuggly against the side of Santana's shoulder. During any other circumstance, she'd most likely physically push the other girl away and snap out some mean comment about getting drool on her shirt, but as she sat there and stared down at the girl - at the peaceful face she'd never seen the diva wear before - all she could do was wrap an arm around her, as she carefully laid her own head down against brown locks and closed her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer; I do not own the show or the characters in this fic (but god do I wish I did)**

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><p>So, yeah. This fic will probably be progressing quite fast. I mean, I wish I could take my time with this and really write out a good 'enemies-goes friendship-goes ...' well, - you get the jest - fic. But I've already decided that this fic is not going to be long at all. Therefore, fast progression - and also, I really, really had to work hard on keeping my mind smut free when I was writing this chapter - because my hormones wanted to take over and turn this all in to a bad smutty one-shot.<p>

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><p>Santana woke up the next day, the sun shining brightly in through the large windows, efficiently blinding her for a few seconds as she slowly opened her eyes. It wasn't until she tried to roll over to bury her face deeper into her pillow that she realized how hairy said pillow had become. She lifted her head to get a better view and squinted to get her eyes to focus, only to come face to face to a sleeping and lightly snoring Rachel Berry.<p>

She almost jumped out of her skin as the realization of who she'd been sleeping on – literally – came to her still foggy-from-sleep mind, but calmed down enough to not scream and wake the girl up. Her right arm, as she now noticed, was firmly stuck under the dead weight of Rachel's body. She briefly considered biting it off to get free, and get the fuck out of this house, but that thought quickly flew out of mind the second she laid her eyes on the small smile the diva had on her face. She looked so different here, away from school, away from Glee where she did nothing but annoy and anger her teammates with her diva-ness ways and attitude. She looked so content now, relaxed, and the Latina had to admit that when Rachel wasn't talking a mile a minute or trying to somehow always have the spotlight on herself in Glee club, she was kind of cute. Okay, not 'kind of', she _was _cute – even when she was talking everyone's ears off – but now she just looked less annoying than usual.

She ghosted her left hand over the smooth skin of the diva's cheek, a small smile tugging on her own lips as she watched the diva's face relax even further, her lush lips parted and a content sigh slipped out. _**Wait, what?**_ Santana removed her hand as if she'd just got burnt, before she tried harder to get her right arm free from under the diva. She did _not_ just get all smile-y face and mushy over how cute Rachel – Man Hands – looked in her sleep! _**Nuh-uh, no fucking way in hell. **_She sighed in frustration, as she once again failed to get her arm free. "HOBBIT!" She yelled out as panic started to set in her mind. She needed to get away from this couch, away from this house and especially away from this girl. Santana Lopez has _a lot_ of things, but she does _**not**_have a soft spot for Rachel-freaking-Berry! That was just a onetime thing, yesterday – the girl had just been mugged for crying out loud! Even someone like Coach Sylvester, who's heartless and cruel, would've helped the poor girl out had she shown up on her doorstep instead of the Latina's.

Rachel slurred in her sleep and wrapped an arm around Santana's waist, efficiently drawing them closer and more flush against one another. She was just about to yell out another demeaning nickname to get the girl to wake the fuck up and let go of her waist, as Rachel buried her face in the crook of Santana's neck and let out a soft moan, "Mmmm."

Again, Santana Lopez has _a lot_ of things, but she does _**not**_ have tingling sensation growing in her nether region right now.

_Although she kind of does._

**Fuck!**

"What…" Rachel's hand moved carefully around the smooth skin of the Latina's side as she tried to figure out where she was and who she was currently holding in her arms. She slowly opened her eyes, "Santana?" She stared at the Latina with her brows furrowed in confusion.

Santana, who'd frozen the second the skin of her neck come in contact with the soft moan Rachel had let out, finally calmed down enough to respond. "Uh… Yeah, you're gonna have to stop touching me right now." Her voice seemed to have dropped down a few levels, and she hated how husky it sounded. But if Rachel had noticed, she didn't let it show as she quickly removed her hand and lifted her back up to free Santana's trapped arm. "I… I apologize. I have no idea how we got in this position." She moved to stand up, turning her face a bit away from the Latina to hide the blush that had grown dark on her cheeks.

"Right." Was all Santana could reply with. She wanted to slap herself for not giving Rachel a mouthful of what she really thought of the girl and her and groping (yet not at all) manly hands.

They were both silent for a few minutes before Rachel cleared her throat and moved towards the kitchen. "Do you, want some coffee perhaps?" She asked without turning to look back at Santana, who was still sitting on the couch, looking more than a little uncomfortable.  
>"What? Oh, yeah. Sure, whatever. Coffee sounds good."<em> Why wasn't she spitting out mean insults right now? <em>The words were right there at the tip of her tongue, but for some reason they refused to come out. What was also freaking her out to an insane level was that she really hadn't minded what had occurred between them a few minutes ago at all. All she could think about was how much she'd enjoyed hearing that sound come out of Rachel's mouth, how good it had felt when that tiny hand had caressed her side and – damn it – how badly she wanted to let her fingers run over the smooth skin of Rachel's face again.

Her thoughts were making head hurt, jumping from anger to regret to fear and back to anger again. She was angry, but surprisingly and quite shockingly, not at the diva. She was angry at herself because she couldn't for the love of all that was holy figure out why the fuck Rachel Berry suddenly made her nervous.  
><em>This was not happening.<em> What had changed in the short amount of time they'd been around each other since yesterday till' this morning that was so different from a week ago? They had barely spoken since before Christmas, and lately Santana had only ever seen Rachel during Glee Club. She hadn't even really insulted or schemed up something to do to hurt her since Valentine's Day when the Latina had decided to egg Rachel's front door in the middle of the night – you don't just get away with calling her a future stripper – the diva so had it coming that time. But now, she had no idea where her mind was at, or why.  
>When did she go from wanting to hurt the diva with her vicious, vicious words and cruel nicknames, such as Man Hands – to wanting that usually blabbering mouth back on her neck and that strangely not-at-all-manly hand back to her side – wanting it to keep caressing up her back, to move towards her abs, and…<p>

"How do you want it?" _What?  
><em>"What!" She choked out as she spun around on the couch to face the girl standing behind the kitchen counter. "Your coffee." She replied flatly, seemingly very focused on measuring up some sort of oatmeal in to a pan, "Do you drink it black or do you want some milk or even some sugar in it perhaps?"

_Shit__, how long had she been lost in thoughts?_ "Eh, just some milk would be fine."

She finally stood up, deciding to ignore her new feelings of nervous fluttering in her stomach, and walked up to stand next to the counter. Rachel looked up at her when she'd finished pouring water in to the saucepan she had previously put – what Santana still thought looked like oatmeal – in.  
>"I'm making oatmeal, if you were wondering." Santana nodded and smiled to herself, "Yeah, I figured." Once again silence settled between the two teens.<p>

"So, you really did it, didn't you?" Santana's head snapped up to Rachel in confusion.  
>"Did what?"<br>"Mono. To Quinn and Finn." Santana laughed,  
>"Oh, yeah, I did that." She continued to laugh, but as Rachel's face fell a little bit, Santana suddenly felt guilty. <em>God damn it, what's going on!<em>  
>"Look, I didn't know for sure that they were, hooking up or whatever plus I was bored and… I don't know. I was still pissed at Quinn, and I never back away from any chance I get at pissing Finnocence off." Rachel's lip went up a little when she heard the nickname. "Although I don't condone your choice of spreading around diseases as some sort of revenge, Santana, I have to say that your plan was quite genius." She sent the taller girl a smirk, before she turned around and set the saucepan down on the stove. Santana watched the other girl closely, more than a little shocked at the playfulness in the diva's words, and just a little less shocked at the feeling she got in her stomach when she saw that smirk.<p>

Almost like butterflies, only, _not, _because Santana Lopez never gets butterflies in her stomach. She's way cooler than that…

"So, what's up with you and Frankenteen these days, anyway?" Rachel turned around and raised her eyebrow, "Do you really care?" Her smirk was still in place, and Santana couldn't tear her eyes away from those lips. She blinked a few times before she jumped up and sat down on the counter. "Well, no. Not really. But I told you last night that I'd listen if you wanted to talk, right? So talk." _Why the hell am I doing this? Why am I still here?  
><em>"Oh. Well, forgive me Santana for not thinking you actually meant those words. I figured you were only saying them to be nice and get me to calm down." The Latina nodded, "Fine, maybe I only meant it a little, but whatever. You got my attention now, want to talk or not?"

Rachel stirred around in the pan with a spoon before she mimicked Santana and jumped up onto the counter. "I cheated on him, you know?"  
>Not knowing this, Santana turned her shocked face in Rachel's direction. Before she had a chance to say anything though, the diva continued, "I know. No one would ever really expect that kind of behavior from me. I was just so mad at him for lying." She sighed, "And Noah's arms were way bigger than I first remembered." Again, with the shocked face from the Latina, "Wait, Puck? You hooked up with Puck!" Rachel seemed to have slipped in to her own world as she ignored the Latina's words, "Or, well… I didn't actually care about his arms. They were larger though, and girls like that right? Nevertheless, I wanted Finn to know what it felt to hurt the way I was hurting."<p>

Santana jumped down from the counter and stood right in front of the diva, "Can you slow down?" Without thinking about it, she places both of her hands on Rachel's thighs, "When did this all happen? And why haven't I heard any juicy details yet?" The diva rolled her eyes, "I guess he didn't tell anyone. And there really aren't any 'juicy details'. Me and Noah merely had an abrupt make-out session in my room before he felt too guilty about hurting Finn once again and left."

Santana's eyebrows had migrated closer to her hairline. "Fuck, Berry. Who knew you had it in you!" She squeezed Rachel's thighs with her hands, before she realized just what she was doing, and jumped up on the counter next to the diva again. "And Puck? I can't believe he's kept quiet about this for so long."  
>"Well, I'm sure Finn must have threatened him with something to get him to keep quiet." A snort left the Latina's throat, "Oh please, Finnocence threatening someone? <em>Highly<em> doubting that. Now if he had something close to, let's say, _my_ rep – I'd believe it. Which, _just no_."

"The whole, 'go all Lima Heights' deal, right? We live on the same block, Santana. And we're kind of part of the wealthier community in Lima…" Rachel nudged her shoulder and shot her a smile. The Latina tried but failed to hide her own smile, "Oh, shut up." She snapped her fingers and bopped her head as she continued, "We'z be the badasses on this block gurl."  
>Loud laughter bubbled out of the diva almost causing her to fall down from the counter. "Please don't ever say that again. Please!" Santana just shrugged her shoulders and sent the diva a wink before she jumped down from the counter again, and began to stir around in the pan Rachel had prepared.<p>

Breakfast was eaten in the living room in front of the TV, where both girls ate their oatmeal and drank their coffee in silence, exchanging glances and small smiles every once in a while.

And for the next few hours, Santana Lopez couldn't care less about where she was or who she was hanging out with, even if that someone happened to be one Rachel Berry. All that she knew was; she hadn't felt this comfortable in a long while.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer; I do not own the show or the characters in this fic (but God do I wish I did)

I apologize for taking forever with updating this (and PODG) but I've been incredibly busy these last couple of months – I still am very busy, but I had tonight free so I figured I'd get some writing done. I've gotten many messages asking me if I had given up on both of these stories and to that my answer is; **No.** _But I can't promise that I will update these that often._ As I've already explained before, I can only write when I feel inspired and that has not been happening a lot as of late :/ I'll try though.

I do apologize if there are too many errors and typos. I don't have a Beta – so you'll have to bear with me. _(Also, I hope that I've taken some of your suggestions on my way of writing and paragraphing in the right direction)_  
><strong>Feel free to leave a review =) Constructive criticism, suggestions and your thoughts are always welcomed!<strong>

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><p>It has been exactly one month since the night of Rachel's mugging, the night that changed Santana Lopez's world in ways she never could've imagined.<p>

For the past weeks, the girls have met up at Rachel's every night to watch movies and – believe it or not – talk. The Latina had been a little reluctant in the beginning, not wanting Rachel to think that they were forming some sort of friendship and had used the lame excuse of not wanting the girl to be alone at home every night in case she had another anxiety attack. She also said that it wouldn't have made much sense to stay at home when the diva was surely to come knocking on her door in a panicked state anyway.  
>But now, the shorter girl had grown on her and she wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she saw the diva as a friend anymore.<br>They'd even gotten friendlier in school, having lunch at the same table and sitting next to each other during Glee Club.

Although she had to admit that Rachel was a lot more likeable outside of school, and she did prefer how the diva acted when it was just the two of them, she's also started to more than tolerate what she now calls 'Crazy Rachel'.

It seemed as if though when the diva was outside of the walls of WMHS, she was much more relaxed and mellowed down as opposed to the usually competitive and overly confident girl she turned into when she was in a group of people – aka 'Crazy Rachel'. Even so, Santana had learned early that even though Rachel always seemed so sure of herself, the girl had a lot of insecurities and doubt under the surface she presented to her classmates every day. She would smile widely during Glee Club, even when Mr. Schuester blatantly ignored every suggestion she'd make, but Santana could see through her fake smile that didn't really reach her eyes, that she was fighting with herself to not run out the doors to hide and cry in the girls' bathroom.

Everyone, including the Latina herself, was surprised when she stood up during a Glee meeting in the first week of their growing friendship, and yelled at Mr. Schuester for not even giving Rachel a chance to explain why she felt that it was necessary to meet up at least once this month on weekend and discuss song selections for Regionals, whilst also taking the time to bond more as a group. She'd sat down again right after she realized what she'd just said – not really wanting to waste a minute of her weekend time to hang out with these people (except maybe Rachel) - but saved face by glaring at their teacher, stating that she also changed her mind about writing original songs for the competition. In her words; _"Berry was right. We'd kick even more ass if we put our minds together and wrote our own songs instead of doing what every other Glee Club will be doing. I want to freaking win, okay!"_ She could feel the burn on her cheeks as everyone stared at her in disbelief but when she turned to her right and saw Rachel's smile – a smile that reached her eyes - beaming at her, she felt much better about it. She even managed to ignore the disgusted look of shock on Quinn's face, who was sitting to her left.

"Did you put in the movie yet?"  
>The shorter brunette yelled from the kitchen as she filled up a bowl of chips, throwing the empty bag in the trash when she was done.<br>"Yup."  
>Santana threw herself on to the sofa on her usual spot, laying comfortably on the lounger with her back propped up against the massive pillows of the couch - neither girl really acknowledged the fact that the diva's favorite spot was right next to the Latina's, tucked in safely beside the wall of the couch and the other girl. Nor did they acknowledge the fact that they usually snuggled up against each other closely and on most nights, both girls even fell asleep with their heads resting on top of each other.<p>

"So, what will we be enjoying this evening? Seeing how it's your night to pick a movie, I'm assuming I should prepare myself for some blood, killers with ridiculously large knifes and horribly bad actresses screaming at the top of their lungs?"  
>Rachel asked as she crawled up to her usual spot after handing the tray of snacks and sodas to the Latina.<br>"Well… I was going to pick Scream 4, but seeing how you nearly ripped my arm off the other night during Scream 3, I changed my mind."  
>Rachel lowered her head in embarrassment,<br>"I said I was sorry about that…"  
>She whispered as Santana shook her head in amusement.<br>"Anyways - I figured a comedy would be a better choice. So I brought with me…"  
>She grabbed the remote from its spot to her left side;<br>"Bridesmaids."  
>Rachel immediately clapped her hands in excitement as the Latina pressed play.<br>"Oh! I have been dying to watch this! I love Kristen Wiig!"  
>Santana laughed,<br>"Good. Cos' if you would've said you disliked her, I would've left."  
>They both snickered at each other before they focused on the movie starting in front of them.<p>

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><p>"Oh god, my cheeks, my stomach and my lungs hurt so much right now!"<br>The diva exclaimed as she laid down more against the couch.  
>"I gotta say, I mean I thought this was going to be funny… but that was just ridiculously hilarious. God, I love Kristen Wiig!"<br>Santana replied as she mimicked Rachel and moved to lie down more comfortably on the couch. Rachel turned to look at the girl next to her and her smile grew bigger,  
>"You picked a good one. If I had my bag near me right now, I'd get my sticker pack and put a gold star on your forehead."<p>

Santana's laugh grew louder,  
>"I bet you would."<br>They stayed silent for a few minutes, both seemingly lost in their own thoughts.  
>"So, tomorrow's Saturday. Are you freaking out about everyone coming over yet or what?"<p>

Santana has always been great at reading people and now that she's actually opened her eyes to one Rachel Berry, she can read her like an open book.  
>She had watched on as Rachel had been cleaning the entire house, wanting to make a great impression on her 'friends' when they arrived tomorrow for song selection slash bonding night. Santana had first found it hilarious how the smaller girl would run around like a crazy person to make sure that the whole house was spotless.<br>From the way Rachel had dragged her through the supermarket, looking for not-so-vegan-friendly food, she knew the girl would basically do _anything_ – even cook slaughtered animals – just to accommodate to everyone's eating habits. And to the way she'd been forced to pick out clothes for Rachel in a clothing store she's rather sure the shorter brunette had never been in before, was just another obvious tell that this girl really wanted to make an exceptional impression on everyone in the Glee Club.

She knew that Rachel had never had any 'real' friends, so whenever the opportunity showed itself and she had gotten closer to someone, she would usually get too overexcited or nervous that she'd scare them away. She'd like to think that her friendship with Rachel had helped the girl a little with some of her insecurities.

Santana has no idea how tomorrow night is going to play out, but she knows that if anyone were to give Rachel a hard time – any mean looks or cruel words, she'd be right there in their face, ready to beat them back to last century.

Hell if she – Santana fucking Lopez – can get over her lame and ridiculous feud with the girl, _anyone_can.

"I'm not going to lie, Santana. I'm definitely on the verge of losing my mind. I'm very nervous."

Santana watched as Rachel ran a shaking hand through her hair.  
>"Hey…" She sent a small smile to the diva laying next to her as she reached out and grabbed the smaller girls hand.<br>"You don't have anything to be nervous about. I'm going to be right here with you all night, and even though I'd never admit this to anyone else… I'm kind of looking forward to playing some of those lame board games I saw you put in the kitchen earlier."

Rachel laughed as she let her eyes rest on their clasped hands. She still had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that this funny, amazing and kind girl she'd been spending so much time lately was none other than Santana Lopez – one of her former bullies. She used to be afraid of the girl every time they crossed paths through the hallways of the school. Santana used to be one of the scariest people she'd ever met. But now whenever Santana makes fun of her, or calls her a name it's always done with a caring smile on her face that lets Rachel know that she's not being serious or mean. It's done in a friendly matter; words that used to sting just as much as those cold slushies she'd get in her face have been replaced by this warmth, this lightness and a glint adorning the eye of her attacker – also now known as her friend; _her best friend to be specific._

"I know. It's just…" Rachel sighed and turned her head to the left, instantly meeting dark brown eyes.  
>"I just want everyone to have a good time. I want them to like me… And I know, you don't have to keep telling me this –" she shook her head and smiled when she saw the other girl about to open her mouth,<br>"- I know I'm being lame about this whole night. But is it really that wrong of me to want the approval of my teammates? Santana, you have no idea how much these past weeks has meant to me." She swallowed hard as she felt a lump beginning to grow in the back of her throat.  
>"I've never felt… this. This feeling, of not being alone, before. And I'm not trying to scare you, I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you right now but…" Taking a deep breath before she continued,<br>"I'm just waiting for that inevitable day when you decide that I'm too annoying to be around again. If not even someone from the Glee Club can stand to be my friend after you've left, I'll be alone again and…"  
>"Hey, now!" Santana sat up a little straighter, clinging a little tighter to Rachel's hand, her voice firm yet laced with hurt.<br>"That's not fair, Rachel. You can't… You can't think like that! First of all; fucking ouch. You really think I'd pull a bitch move like that on you now that we're friends? Second of all; you don't need their damn approval. If they can't see you for the amazing person that you are, then it's their loss. Screw them! And I've already told you, I'm not going anywhere. We're friends now, so I'm stuck with you forever."  
>Rachel smiled. Santana always seemed to know just what to say to make her feel better, even if she did always say it in her own ways. Rachel knew she'd probably be hurting Santana's feelings by voicing her fears, but part of her really needed to hear the other girl confirm that she too got something from this friendship. She needed to hear that Santana was here to stay.<br>"I'm sorry." She whispered as she carefully stroked her thumb over Santana's knuckles.  
>"I just don't want to lose you." Rachel whispered it out so quietly that Santana almost didn't hear it.<br>Staring deeply in to each other's eyes, Santana lifted their clasped hand to her mouth and let her lips softly caress the back of Rachel's.  
>"That's never going to happen." She replied before snuggling closer to the smaller girl.<br>Rachel sighed, more in relief than anything else as she let herself be held by her best friend.

She didn't even attempt to wipe away the tears that escaped her eyes, and she didn't mention how she'd noticed Santana's looking rather watery before the girl buried her head in the crook of Rachel's neck.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer; I do not own the show or the characters in this fic (but God do I wish I did)

This chapter will be a little (a lot) longer than the others =) Hope you'll enjoy it! I'd also like to apologize in case it will be confusing, because I feel like I can't get the past and present tenses right in this story =/ Also, I know – these last two chapters have been posted very close to each other, but that's only because I've been feeling inspired today. Or I _was _inspired earlier today, not right now - but I did manage to finish this chapter even after I felt like deleting it all. After reading it all through though, I'm glad I didn't delete it =) Hope you feel the same.

**Warning; Finn bashing. Also contains a little bit of Bitch Quinn.**

I do apologize if there are too many errors and typos. I don't have a Beta – so you'll have to bear with me.  
><strong>Feel free to leave a review =) Constructive criticism, suggestions and your thoughts are always welcomed!<strong>

* * *

><p>On Sunday afternoon, after spending a few hours in front of the TV, the girls decided to treat themselves to some food downtown at Breadstix a few hours before the Glee Club was about to arrive at Rachel's house.<p>

"Stop!" Santana turned around and lifted one perfectly sculpted eyebrow.  
>"What? I didn't say anything." She replied. Rachel's was clearly unamused.<br>"Yeah, that smirk on your face is saying enough on its own." She got a snort in response from the girl sitting in front of her.  
>"I mean, just look at that guy. What did you honestly find attractive about him?" The diva's eyes shifted from the smirking girl in front of her, to the tall guy wearing a goofy grin, 4 booths down.<br>"You were the one who slept with him." she replied, with no anger in her voice whatsoever. She continued her response before the Latina opened her mouth to defend herself.

"But honestly?" Her gaze was still locked on Finn as he shoveled food unattractively into his mouth. She frowned,  
>"He had his moments." Santana tilted her head as she stared at the other girl.<br>"That's it? That's all you got?" The diva sighed,  
>"What do you want me to say, Santana? Obviously I had my reasons for my feelings towards him…"<br>"But?"

Rachel sighed once again as she turned back to look at the Latina.  
>"But I honestly can't remember what they were." She finished in a frustrated breath.<br>"I knew it!" Santana yelled out in laughter, clutching her side. "You…"

"Hey guys!" Finn smiled goofily down at both girls.  
>Santana glared at him for interrupting their conversation.<br>"Finnocence." She stared down at her nails, already bored of his presence.  
>"Hello, Finn." Rachel replied in a friendly tone.<br>His face lit up almost immediately as Rachel turned to look at him. Clearing his throat from nerves – Santana sighed at all of his lame – he went on,  
>"What are you guys doing here?"<p>

His tone of voice had that stupid natural aloofness to it that Santana couldn't stand.  
>"What are we doing here? In this restaurant? With plates of food in front of us? Hmm..."<p>

Santana lifted a finger to her chin, tapping it lightly whilst pretending to think.  
>"Well, I'll be damned. I have no clue. What do you say, Rach? What <em>are<em> we doing here?" She innocently stared at Rachel, trying her hardest to keep from laughing.  
>"Santana, please crank the sarcasm down." She scolded playfully whilst trying to burst in to laughter herself.<p>

Turning more towards Finn, she continued,  
>"I will say that your question was clearly unnecessary and quite dim Finn, since we're very obviously here to eat." The boy scratched his head, a blush turning visible on his cheeks,<br>"Uh, yeah… Sorry. I just meant, like, you know… Together. Since you hate each other and all." Rachel threw a glare Santana's way when the other girl snorted in amusement.  
>"Finn, Santana and I have been friends for quite some time now. I thought that was pretty obvious in school and during Glee." He shrugged his big shoulders,<br>"Yeah, but… It's Santana, and well, everyone knows she Artie, Sam, can't stand you. So I just thought she was planning something really mean to do to you." Gradually, Rachel's face began to fall as the boy continued talking,  
>"Because like, why would she be friends with you, right?" Rolling her eyes at the boy, Santana decided it was time to get serious before this dumb ass giant started to re-crack the just glued-together pieces of Rachel's confidence in their friendship.<br>"Hey Finessa, why don't you just shut that giant mouth of yours and stop making idiot comments about things you have _no clue_ about, before I grab this plate of mine and jam it down your throat?" Finn stared at her with wide eyes for a few seconds before he turned back to Rachel.

"Look, Rache… I was going to ask you if you wanted to, maybe, I don't know… Like… Go out wit…"

Finally having enough of this guy, Santana slams her fork down onto her plate,

"You know what? We're done here. So we'll be leaving right now and just give this to you…" She stood up and grabbed Rachel's hand before she threw the bill towards the tall boy who fumbled around a bit before he finally got a hold of the slip.  
>"Thanks for dinner. See you tonight!" She threw him a fake smile as she dragged Rachel towards the exit. Finn stood there holding the bill in his hands, staring dumbly back at the girls as they left the building.<p>

* * *

><p>Kurt and Mercedes were the first to arrive. Santana had watched on in amusement from her spot on the kitchen counter as Rachel had taken a few seconds to collect herself before opening the door. They had both been pleasant and polite with her as she'd hung their jackets up and presented them both with glasses of soda.<br>Second to arrive were Tina, Mike and Brittany – the latter who had immediately given Rachel a tight hug before she'd skipped over to Santana to do the same with her. Rachel had shot Santana a look as the tall blonde's arm wrapped around the Latina, that Santana had some difficulties reading and before she had time to dwell on it, the shorter girl had refocused her attention on the other two guests by giving them the same treatment Kurt and Mercedes had received.

Quinn arrived a few minutes after that, clearly not pleased with being here and especially not happy with arriving alone. She'd declined Rachel's offer of soda and after staring at the sofa in the living room for a few seconds, she'd finally shaken her head – clearly irritated by something – before sitting down, quite stiffly one might add.

Next up were Puck and Finn, which was just… Awkward, to say the least. Puck had called Rachel his hot Jewish American princess – which had made Santana roll her eyes for some reason – before he'd hugged her. After that he chugged his glass of soda down in one gulp, immediately complaining on the lack of alcohol in it as he walked off into the living room to join the others. Finn had been standing in the hallway, awkwardly – like everything is when it comes to him – watching the encounter, just waiting for Rachel to shift her attention to him. Which she did, but it was obvious that she was being less friendly with him than he'd hoped. Just as he'd sat down on the big couch next to Mike, the doorbell rang again signaling the arrival of the last two members, Artie and Sam.  
>Finally, after making sure that everyone's set with a glass of soda, Rachel drags Santana into the living room to start off the activities that she had planned for the night.<p>

"Okay!" She claps her hands excitedly and smiles at everyone sitting huddled on the sofa.  
>"First of all, thank you all for coming! I'm very happy that you all took some time out of your weekend to come here tonight, and I just know that we're going to have a great time! My father's are still out of town at the moment and won't be home until next week, but I promised them that this was going to be a calm and quiet get together, so I thank you all for not bringing alcohol with you."<br>Santana throws popcorn at Quinn when she sees the blonde rolling her eyes at Rachel's words, not so very subtly letting the girl know she needs to shut the fuck up or they'll have problems.  
>Rachel – not happy about the childish way her friend chose to defend her honor – sends Santana a small smile anyway before continuing,<p>

"So to start the night off, I thought we could play a round of…" She makes a small drum roll sound by clapping her legs and Santana can't help but to smile at how lame yet cute she looks.

"Pictionary!" Rachel's smile is blinding as she lifts up the blue box for everyone to see. There are some groans going around on the sofa and Puck is of course the one to speak up,

"No offense, my fellow hot Jew, but there's no way in hell I'm playing that. 'Specially if I'm sober. You gotta have something better than that! Let's just play strip poker!" He wiggles his eyebrows at every single one of the girls in the room until Mercedes slaps him in the back of the head.

"Look, I kind of agree with Puck." His face lifts up again but she's quick to explain herself,

"Not about the strip poker part," she shakes her head at the mowhawked boy next to her,  
>"But seriously Rach, I'm not feeling Pictionary. Don't you have anything else?" A murmur of agreement is going around and Santana can almost see the breakdown that must be going on in Rachel's head right now. Time to step up,<br>"Guys, come on. What's wrong with Pictionary? I think it sounds fucking awesome." She doesn't really. She's not big on board games, but she knows that Rachel loves them, so she has learnt to tolerate them. Besides, she feels like she still needs to be a little more open and friendly towards Rachel in public since the girl still won't get over the idea that this friendship is only temporary for Santana. She needs to show Rachel that she's serious about wanting to be her friend, so if that means that she has to defend stupid board games, then so be it.

"But, you hate Pictionary." Brittany speaks up in a confused voice as she places her hand on Santana's left thigh.  
>"Remember that time we played Pictionary in my room and you didn't want to play so you licked your way up my…" Putting a hand over her blonde friends' mouth in panic, Santana turns her reddened face towards Rachel.<br>"What other games were there? Monopoly? Yahtzee? Anything?" She stands up awkwardly and clears her throat as she turns towards everyone on the sofa who's staring at her with amused faces.

"I'll go check." She sends another glance in Rachel's direction and can't help but see that the other girls' face has fallen even more since her attempt at changing everyone's' minds.

Brittany stands up with a smirk covering her lips,  
>"I'll go with you, San."<br>Stopping mid-step, Santana spins around fast and shakes her head.

"No, no! That's okay Britt. Just… Stay here."

The tall blonde slumps back down on the sofa with a adorning her face.

* * *

><p>When Santana gets back from her trip to the hallway closet, everyone's talking animatedly with each other on the couch, but something's off. Both Rachel and Finn are missing.<br>Shaking her head at the weird feeling in her stomach, she places the other boxes of games on the table before she goes to search for the missing members.

She has just finished searching every room downstairs and is on her way up the stairs when she hears Rachel's voice. It sounds like it's coming from the girls' bedroom so Santana takes the stairs two at a time to get there faster.

"… that you don't understand, Finn?" Santana reaches Rachel's bedroom door in record time, but stops outside to get a better understanding on what's happening on the other side of the door.

"I just don't understand why you won't say yes! It would be perfect, me taking you out to dinner, us walking down the streets holding hands, me kissing you goodnight by your door…" Santana wrinkles her face in disgust as the boy continues with trying to win Rachel over,

"- we'll stand there on your porch, because we don't want the night to end…" Rachel sighs and it sounds exasperated to Santana's ears,

"Finn… No. I don't want that. I don't –" She's cut off by something and Santana presses her ear to the door to hear better. There's a muffled squeak followed by smacking of lips and Santana's had enough! She pushes the door open and is met by the sight of Rachel trying to push Finn away from her. He's holding her wrists in his hands as he's trying his damndest to get the girl to kiss him back.

"HEY!" Santana grabs the back of his shirt and tugs as hard as she can.

"GET YOUR GIANT HANDS OFF OF HER!" He finally releases the girl who quickly tries to wipe the kiss away from her lips, eyes clearly stating her anger towards what just happened.

"I …" The boy stumbles on his words, confused as to what ripped him away from his girl.

Rachel shakes her head and Santana can see that there are tears forming in her eyes,  
>"I cannot believe you, Finn Hudson!" She points an accusing finger in his direction.<br>"How dare you force yourself on me like that?" In all of years of being in the same school with the girl, Santana has never seen Rachel this angry before.  
>"That's… I didn't…" He tries to reach out for her, but she slaps his hand away.<p>

"Don't touch me!"

"I just… I miss you, Rache!" Finn pleaded with her. Santana once again rolled her eyes at his annoying way of using her nickname – wondering briefly if he'd be the sole cause of her eyes one day getting stuck like that – before walking up to him, making sure Rachel's standing safely behind her.

"Look, Frankenteen! Rachel doesn't want anything to do with you! When are you going to get that through your thick skull?"  
>She turned towards Rachel, placing her hand on the shorter girls' shoulder.<br>"Are you okay? Do you want me to throw him out?" Rachel swallows hard before meeting Santana's eyes. She nods once before Santana turns back around to face Finn again.

"You can't listen to her!" He yelled, trying his best to catch Rachel's eyes,

"She's plotting something against you! Probably to make sure that you stay away from me or something! I bet she wants me for herself!"  
>"Oh, okay, you got me!"<p>

Disgust clearly written on her face, Santana continued,  
>"What planet are you even from Finntard? First of all; fucking ew! I would never go there agai…" She made a choking sound as she stopped talking and put a hand over her mouth, "- ugh, I can't even say it without throwing up all over the place. Just; <em>No!<em> Second of all; I don't need to plot and scheme around to make Rachel see that she doesn't need you. She already knows that! You're like the biggest idiot in the world – and not just literally – you long-assed giant, but you have the brain capacity of a toddler. You treated her like crap and stomped all over her feelings with your big ass feet!" He tried to interrupt her, but she put her hand up to shush him as she continued,  
>"You're selfish and obnoxious and you never once took anything she was feeling into consideration. You're like a fucking yoyo with your hot and cold act towards her. Listen carefully, because I will only say this once…" She made sure she had all of his attention as she stepped up to his face – or more like chest – and gritted out,<br>"You don't deserve her and you're going to stop this hurt puppy stalker act you've been keeping up these past weeks and leave her alone or I swear to you, I will sneak into your room in the middle of the night and go all lime heights on your ass. Do you understand what I'm saying?" He swallowed nervously once, but made no indication that he got her words so she kept going, "You will wake up as a woman. Literally. You already have the boobs to go with it, but unless you don't want to wake up with a vagina where your penis used to be, I suggest you take my advice." He glanced in Rachel's direction once before nodding.  
>"O-okay." Santana looked pleased with herself,<br>"Okay. Great! You can leave now." Dismissing him with a flip of her hand, she turned towards Rachel and wrapped her arms around her friend.

Finn doesn't utter another word as he stumbles down the stairs to grab his jacket. Some of the guys are already standing down by the door with their arms crossed over their chest, anger and disappointment written over their faces. It's clear they heard most of the argument going on upstairs. Puck opens the door and shakes his head as he pushes Finn the rest of the way out.

"So…" Tina's timid voice breaks the awkward silence that had settled in the hallway,  
>"Pictionary?" Santana breathes out in relief and sends a small smile in Tina's direction.<p>

Everyone settles down on the sofa again, and this time no one seems to have any complaints about Pictionary whatsoever. Santana tries to stay in the game, but she can't seem to stop staring in Rachel's direction. Just watching the other girls' smile as she plays this lame board game with their Glee Club friends makes Santana's heart swell.

They've been playing for about an hour now, and Rachel can't be happier about the fact that everyone seem to be having a really good time. Her eyes travel over all of her teammates in her living room, but the smile on her face falls a little as her gaze lands on Santana, who's sitting next to a really clingy looking Brittany. Rachel doesn't understand the feelings that course through her at this sight. Although part of her kind of knows why – but Santana has already told her that she's not going anywhere. That their friendship is not going to end.  
>But Rachel can't help that she feels jealous as she watches Santana smile at her 'real' best friend. She knows that Santana and Brittany are more than just friends too, but she's never had the guts to ask Santana how serious their… <em>secret,<em> is. The other girl has mentioned that she doesn't hang out with Brittany much these days, which has been obvious since she's spent practically every day of the month with Rachel, but Santana and Brittany are childhood friends. Childhood friends who are _more _than friends, so of course that makes Rachel's insides knot together. Or…

Rachel sighs and shakes her head. What is she even doing? How many times has Santana told her to stop feeling so insecure about their friendship? So what if Santana is having sex with Brittany, it's not like Rachel and Santana are in a relationship, so she really has no right to feel all of these things right now.

Although she_ does_ feel them, and they're making her confused…  
>Tina nudges her shoulder to let her know that it's Rachel's time to pick a card. She smiles at the girl next to her before she stands up to start drawing on the board she'd set up in front of the couch.<p>

* * *

><p>They're taken a break from playing and everyone seems to be huddled in the kitchen where the snack has been put out, as Rachel moves about in the living room, fixing and cleaning up a bit. She really doesn't have to, but she's nervous again, now that everyone's about to eat the food she'd spent hours on making. She knows she shouldn't – what good vegan would – but she can't help but feel a little proud of the meat she stewed earlier in the day. And the meatballs she and Santana had made last night before they fell asleep in front of the TV again.<p>

Santana approved of both dishes, but she's still nervous that someone will hate it. She sighs and shakes her head again, which she seems to be doing a lot tonight. Stupid nerves!

"Oh, I didn't hear you come in." She smiles at Quinn who's standing in the passage to the living room.  
>The girl rolls her eyes, and sits down without saying anything back.<p>

"Did you try some food? I made the stew myself." Rachel says proudly, as she wrings her hands together nervously behind her back.

"I was going to, but then I just thought it looked so much like vomit that I had to leave the kitchen."

Quinn watches as Rachel's face falls and smirks.  
>"Nice shirt by the way. Did you pick that out all by yourself?"<br>When she doesn't get an answer right away, she continues,  
>"Trying to make an impression tonight, are we?"<p>

Rachel glances down at her outfit; black skinny jeans and a regular black wife beater. She wanted to dress down a little – okay a lot – even though Santana had told her to just be herself. Santana had complimented her on how her breast seemed to grow a few sizes in this tank top, and Rachel had fought hard to keep Santana from seeing her blush. The taller brunette had nudged her shoulder and smiled at her, saying _"I'm not joking, you look great. But I like your lame animal sweaters as well, just so you know."_  
>Whatever, it's not like Rachel chose to wear this just because she thought Santana might stare at her chest all night. Because, they don't… They're not those kind of friends… She's not Brittany.<p>

"You're blushing, Stubbles. What are you thinking about?"

Almost forgetting glaring blonde sitting on her sofa, Rachel shook her head to clear her thoughts.  
>"I'm not trying to impress anyone, Quinn. I just wanted to wear something simple tonight, is that such a crime?"<p>

Quinn let out a small snort, obviously amused by this loser standing before her,

"You're trying too hard, sweetie. I realize you're friends with Santana now, so you're feeling slightly cooler, but you should really take it down a few notches. Desperate is a sad look on you."

Rachel rolled her eyes, which Quinn scoffed at – as if she owns the matter of rolling one's eyes – before shaking her head. No more playing nice with this girl.

"You don't need to be so condescending, Quinn. At least I have the breast to pull this off. You should be careful," She gave the shocked blonde an overly sweet smile as she bent forward to get closer to the other girl before whispering,  
>"Your 'jealous' is showing..." She could see the rage that was boiling up behind Quinn's eyes, so she stood back up straight again, before smiling bigger at the girl and walking out of the living room. She walked into the kitchen with a genuine smile adorning her face. <em>What?<em> She thought, smiling to herself. _I've been hanging out with Santana Lopez for weeks now; something of hers was just bound to rub off on me._ She froze at that thought, feeling that blush creep up again. 

Santana was smiling at her from the other side of the counter and she could tell that her red face was making the Latina's brows creak into a worrying line. She shook her head at the other girl, and mouthed _"Cake",_ before pointing to the basement door.  
>Santana nodded and the line on her forehead vanished again. Rachel breathed out in relief as she opened the door and disappeared down the stairs.<p>

* * *

><p>15 minutes later, they're standing in the living room, waiting for Rachel to get back in here with 'the surprise'.<br>It's a cake; Santana knows this since she helped Rachel bake it last night before they got started on the meatballs. It's huge and pink, with white letters spelling out GLEE CLUB over the whole cake. It's vegan friendly, because Santana wasn't about to spend time on baking a damn cake that Rachel wouldn't be allowed to eat. It's good though, and if she hadn't known last night that the 'test cake' she was sampling was vegan, she wouldn't ever have thought so. 

Rachel was finally making her way into the living room, carefully carrying the huge cake platter with both hands. Santana had to help her put it down on the table and then both of them stepped back to smile at the shocked faces of their teammates. 

If Santana wasn't being mauled by a jumping and squealing Brittany, she might've noticed the glint in Quinn's eyes as the blonde girl sat quietly on the sofa. If she wasn't so focused on peeling Brittany's wandering left hand from her butt, she might've seen the slight smirk that was making it way forth on Quinn's lips, or the way her eyes kept going from the container full of soda on the table to Rachel and then down to the cake. If she hadn't run off into the kitchen to get the camera, where she also had to – once again – stop Brittany, who had followed her like a shadow and attached her lips to Santana's neck, she might've been able to see the foot that was being held out on the ground behind Rachel as she laughed along with her teammates. 

But she was too focused on the tall blonde that was currently slipping her hand up her shirt to do anything.  
>"Britt… Stop."<br>"But I miss our sexy times, San." The blonde pouted, tracing her hand over Santana's right hip as she leaned forward to whisper in her ear,  
>"I miss you touching me… Kissing me…" Brittany let her tongue drag slowly down Santana's neck. The brunette had her eyes tightly shut as she tried to concentrate on how to talk. She hadn't had sex in months – <em>months!<em> That's a long time for someone who used to be getting it on a daily basis.

"I miss holding you in my arms…" Her eyes snapped open. This was wrong! She'd broken it off with Brittany a few months back since the tall blonde was starting to cross the 'friends with benefits' line and into something more deeper; something with feelings – and that would be okay, if Santana was reciprocating those feelings, but she wasn't. She isn't. And she won't. Brittany misses holding her, but Santana definitely doesn't miss being held. That's too mushy, too emotional.

She loves her friend, but not in that way. She thought she'd found the best solution in the world, since she loves sex but sex with Puck or any other guy had always felt too much… _guy._ If that even makes sense. Brittany was perfect; Brittany was her best friend and Brittany was _all girl_– yes, okay, that's a really gay thought for someone who claims to be straight but whatever… The point is… 

"Aahhh!"  
>She pushes Brittany to the side and runs back to the living room the second she hear the scream, which was followed by a couple of loud bangs and smashes.<p>

As soon as she enters the room and spots a cake-covered Rachel on the floor and a laughing Quinn on the sofa, it doesn't take a genius to know what had just happened. She stares at the other members of the club and can see how they're all clearly trying not to laugh at the red-faced girl on the floor who is layered with cake.  
>Santana's blood is boiling as she kneels down next to Rachel.<br>"What happened?" She knows what happened, but she needs Rachel to tell her just in case.  
>Rachel just shakes her head as tears form in her eyes and Santana's heart break when Rachel scrambles up from the floor and runs up the stairs to her room.<br>Once the bedroom door closes with a bang, Santana shifts her attention back to the other Glee kids who are still trying to keep from laughing.  
>"Assholes! All of you!"<p>

Mercedes lets out a chuckle as she shakes her head,

"Don't even try to pin this on all of us. That was all Queen Q over there."  
>"Oh yeah, and you're not just sitting there right now laughing? Laughing at Rachel?" Santana asks, her voice her voice eerily angry. Mercedes stops smiling, but the rest of the kids seems to still think the whole thing is hilarious.<p>

"You're all just as bad as Quinn. God!" She stands up and looks at them with disgust in her face,

"You have no fucking idea how much this night even meant to her, do you? How hard she worked, _for days,_ just so that she would be sure to please every single one of you ungrateful assholes! It's sad, isn't it? How hard she tries to make you like her? Because that's all she wants; she just want you to like her! Instead of just tolerating her! And it's not even a lot to ask for! How can you not see how amazing she is!" Some of them had the decency to look somewhat ashamed now. Quinn was still smiling however, so Santana focused in on her,

"And you! What the fuck is your problem with her anyway?"

"Like you're any better? You were just as bad as me once."  
>"See that's the difference between me and you though, isn't it? I actually stopped. I apologized. I <em>feel<em> bad for the way I used to behave, but you're still acting like an angry 12 year old. It's embarrassing, Quinn. Don't you think it's time to let old grudges go already?"

No one said anything as Santana stared at every single one of them.

"Rachel is my friend. And I'm not going to sit by and watch you all treat her like shit. Get out of her house! All of you! Just leave." 

She stormed out into the hallway and began to tear jackets down from the hangers. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and when she turned around she was met with Tina's apologetic face,

"Santana… We're sorry."  
>"Don't." She shook her head as she threw the last jacket onto the floor.<br>"I'm not the one you should all apologize to." 

* * *

><p>When everyone had finally left, she started to clean the cake off of the floor. She was thankful that it hadn't gotten onto any of the carpets lining the wooden floor, as that'd be something Rachel would have to tell her father's about. She knows that Rachel would hate to tell them what happened tonight, especially since they'd been so excited that she was having friends over, even if they couldn't be home to see it as well. Rachel has told her once that she never really tells her parents about the bullying that goes on in their school. She said that whenever they asked why she'd come home some days wearing a different outfit than what she left the house in that same morning, she'll make up some excuse like the fabric of the shirt made her itchy or she'll say they had a pop-gym class, as in pop-quiz – who would even believe that? – And they buy it. Every single time.<br>Santana sighs as she stands by the stairs. 

_Time to do damage control._ She silently curses one Quinn Fabray as she walks up the stairs. Rachel is _her _Rachel. Only Santana is allowed to hurt her – but like, in a kind way. Because she hates to see Rachel sad. 

She finds Rachel in her room, huddled in a corner, wearing her cute pink one-piece pajamas. The first time Santana had seen it; she had laughed so loud and asked why she'd want to dress like a toddler. Rachel had gone up to her room, and Santana was sure that she had accidentally insulted the girl, but 2 minutes later, Rachel came back again but this time she was holding a matching red one. _"Try it on. You don't get to judge the 'piece' unless you've worn one yourself."  
><em>

And okay. Then had been so fucking comfortable – really – it should be like, illegal to sell those. 

"Hey,"  
>She reaches her hand down towards the smaller girl, who tentatively grabs it and lets Santana help her up.<br>"You okay?" She asks as she lets her hand caress Rachel's cheek, just waiting for that inevitable moment where 'Crazy Rachel' will make a ranting appearance. She knows she has to, otherwise Rachel will lock everything she wants to say inside of herself, and that's never a good thing. Rachel is one of those people who need to rant and vent out before they can move past something.  
>"No." Rachel replies.<p>

"Well… It could've been worse, Rach."  
>"Oh God, Santana! That was such a disaster!"<br>Here we go,  
>"It's okay. So what if you got a little cake on yourself, accidents happen."<br>"You make it sound like I'm 5 years old and I just wet my bed!" She shrieked,

"Rachel, calm down!"  
>"How am I supposed to do that? It was awful! They are never going to let me live this down, Santana! And where were you? Quinn was such a bitch to me all night! And I bet you were just hiding with Brittany in the supply closet, having the time of your life!"<br>"Rachel, you're being ridiculous right now! I'm sorry I wasn't there to notice what she was about to do! But are really blaming me for this? And no, not that you or anyone else has a right to know this, but there's nothing going on with Brittany and I anymore. I stopped it a few months ago, but thanks. And really, it was just some soda and some cake! It wasn't the end of the world!"  
>"IT WAS FOR ME! Have you learnt nothing whilst being friends with me? Do you not understand how important tonight was for me?"<br>"Of course I do, but we talked about this! Stop trying to find a friend to replace me with when I 'find you too annoying to be around' because that's not gonna to happen!"

Santana yelled back as Rachel shook her head,  
>"It's not just that. I'm just tired of them looking down on me. Did you see Quinn? Did you see how pleased she looked!"<br>"Fuck Quinn and her holier-than-thou attitude! I had a great time tonight, even though… I could've done without Puck's comments and Brittany's wandering hands. Also, Finn put a damper on my mood for a while there… but besides that, I had fun. Doesn't that count for something?" She asked, clearly trying her best to calm the other girl down. Rachel heaved another sigh and nodded her head.  
>"You're right, Santana. I'm sorry." She wrapped her arms around her best friend and breathed in deeply as she closing her eyes,<br>"I'm so sorry. That does count for something. That actually counts the most. And I'm sorry about the Brittany comment."

"It's okay, you weirdo." Rachel smiled into Santana's shoulder as the other girl's grip tightened around her waist.  
>"Thank you, really, Santana. For calming me down, for everything you did tonight, for this last month. Just… thank you." Santana shifted her head to place a small kiss on Rachel's collarbone.<br>"You're welcome, Shorty."  
>She could feel Rachel smile against her skin as the girl mimicked the action and Santana couldn't help the small shudder that ran through her body. She flashes back to that morning on Rachel's couch, the morning after she'd climbed up the wall and in through the window of this exact house. She remembers Rachel's arm pulling her in, and she can almost hear that sound again, that moaned that had slipped out through Rachel's lips as she was waking up. She can't stop the goose bumps that form all over her body.<p>

Rachel leans back a little to look up at Santana,

"You okay?" She stares intently into Santana's eyes and Santana feels as though she's forgotten how to words, so she nods her head once, before she draws Rachel closer again and places her face back against the other girls' neck.

"Mhm." It's the best she can do with words for now, because suddenly, being in Rachel's arms feels like the best thing in the world.

"You sure?" Rachel whisper into her hair? Santana swallows, and tries again to form words,

"Yeah… just…" She takes a deep breath before she tightens her hold on Rachel once again,  
>"Just hold me." <p>

So Rachel does.


End file.
